Scary and Photographic Cemeteries

I have been
to several creepy but gorgeous cemeteries around Arizona. There are so many old west cemeteries in such
disarray with hardly a headstone visible anywhere. There are others in much better shape and are
well maintained. Whether they are being
taken care of or not, they are still fantastic places to photograph especially
if the sun is going down. When I
photograph an interesting grave or headstone, I look for what is around it and
how the light shines on the image. I pick
the right angle and shoot. Depending how
the light shines on the grave/headstone, you can end up with an eerie yet stunning
photo.

OLD CONGRESS
CEMETERY

Located
northeast of Wickenburg on AZ Hwy 93 and then north on SR 89 is the diminutive
town of Congress. All that remains of the
town are some old buildings and the Old Congress Cemetery. To get to the
cemetery, you have to take a dirt road off the main highway. It takes you a
couple of miles before you will see the gates of the old cemetery. The grounds
are still maintained by the town’s committee. As you look around, the place has
that old west, haunted look and feel to it. Most of the metal fences are rusty,
and the wood fences are broken as well as some of the headstones. While walking
through the dusty grounds, you are taken back to when the west was wild.

FAIRBANK

The Fairbank
Cemetery is about ½ mile from the town and historic buildings of Fairbank
Historic Town Site. The dirt trail is flat for most of the way, except when you
get near the cemetery. The small dusty trail becomes steep along the side of a
hill. On top of the hill are amazing views of the San Pedro River Valley where the
cemetery sits and only three graves are currently marked. Most of the graves
were barely noticeable from the many years of abrasive weather and lightning
strikes. Many of the Fairbank’s past residents are more than likely buried in
those graves.

GOODYEAR-OCOTILLO
CEMETERY

The cemetery
is surrounded by a block wall in the middle of the prestigious community of
Fulton Ranch situated in the city of Chandler. It is located 0.1 mile south of
Fulton Ranch Boulevard on South Iowa Street. The outside entrance is
beautifully landscaped with flowers, bushes, grass, and a bench to rest on. The
scenery inside the gates of the cemetery is quite unlike the outside. The
grounds are dirt with tumbleweeds and no plant life anywhere except for the
tall dry grass. Scattered throughout are the grave markers and headstones. Many
of them are broken and rusty from lack of care. The severe Arizona weather and
vandals have raised havoc on this eerie little graveyard. The only signs of
color inside the walls are the few flowers put there by relatives or someone
who cared.

BOOT HILL
GRAVEYARD

Sitting just
outside of Tombstone is the famous burial grounds known as the Boot Hill
Graveyard. Many famous and not-so-famous
are buried amongst the dirt, cacti, and rocks.
Three of the participants in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral (Billy
Clanton, Frank and Tom McLaury) along with outlaws, lawmen, and citizens living
in Tombstone make up the many graves that line the grounds of the
cemetery. Many say that ghosts are
wandering the premises and some have witnessed their apparitions.

DOUBLE
BUTTES CEMETERY

On September
13, 1887, a group of citizens formed a group called, "Tempe Cemetery
Association", and started the Double Buttes Cemetery in Tempe, AZ. The property was donated by Niels Peterson
in 1888. Many famous Arizona citizens
are buried in this cemetery. I went there with Sharon and we took a bunch
of pictures by the Woolf family’s plot.
Standing in the same spot and shooting three pictures in a row, I got a
weird rainbow mist in one and nothing in the others. This happened a few more times as I moved
around the plot. It was dark and there were
no lights in the area. Others have experience
shadow people and weird lights. It is a
creepy cemetery for sure.

BISBEE’S
EVERGREEN CEMETERY

In 1912 the
old cemetery, located in Brewery Gulch in Old Bisbee, was closed and replaced by
Evergreen Cemetery. By 1914, the bones of the residents buried there were all
removed and relocated. Because some of the records were unfinished and many of
the tombstones have rotted away, many feel that there are still buried souls
are under City Park’s grounds where the old cemetery used to be. Buried in the Evergreen Cemetery are many of
Bisbee’s most prominent residents from its colorful past. Many played important
roles in the history of Bisbee and are part of Bisbee’s ghost stories. This is another cemetery where people have
reported seeing apparitions and strange lights.
Each time I have been there at dusk, I got the feeling like someone
unseen was watching me. Was it an
organic person or a spirit of those buried there?

ST. FRANCIS
CATHOLIC CEMETERY

This
cemetery started in 1897 in Phoenix. The
cemetery was previously managed by the “Order
of St. Francis until 1969, under the Diocese of Tucson”. After that time, it assumed a sovereign
position and taken care of by volunteers.
Spooky shadow figures have been seen there after dark.

PIONEER
CEMETERY

Pioneer and
Military Memorial Park serves as a monument to the pioneer families of Arizona.
The park's historic cemeteries are the final resting place to notable figures
in Arizona history and folklore, including John T. Alsap, who was the first
Maricopa County Probate Judge in 1871 and first Mayor of Phoenix in 1881. Jacob
Walz, the Dutchman of Superstition Mountain fame, also rests here. A monument
to Walz includes a simulation of Weaver's Needle and some of the imposing
bluffs that serve as landmarks of the famous Superstition Wilderness. Walz and
his legendary "Lost Dutchman" gold mine have become part of the
internationally-known folklore of the southwestern United States. The historic Smurthwaite House was relocated
to the park in 1994. Restoration, which began in May of 1998, was completed in
2004.

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